Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Louisville Slugger sells out to Wilson


I can remember growing up as a kid in little league, in my neighborhood and all the way through school thinking I was something else when I went up to the plate holding a Louisville Slugger. I don’t know what it was looking back, maybe it was the fact that it was the same bat brand that the likes of Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Derek Jeter and others held but I always held a sense of pride when I held one in my hands. This sense of pride, achievement and accomplishment is something that my son will not be able to enjoy or understand as Louisville Slugger is no more after the company sold its rights to Wilson for $70 million.

Hillerich & Bradsby Co. has made the Louisville Slugger bat for 130 years now while also making gloves, golf clubs and other sports equipment but now all that merchandise is moving over to Wilson Sporting Goods Co. About 60% of Major League Baseball players reportedly use Louisville Slugger bats and more than 100 million bats have been sold in the company’s lifetime according to reports.


This is honestly probably not going to be a big deal in the long run. The same stamp will be put on the bats and the same procedure and workers will likely still make the bats themselves. The only major difference will be the company who owns the rights and the merchandise but I think it’s the nostalgia that makes this a difficult pill to swallow. Hopefully, like many times before them, Wilson doesn’t take a good thing and try to change it only to make the product worse because that would break a piece of my childhood and rip it out of my heart. 

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)